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Trans Accessibility Project: Transphobia and Discrimination

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Trans Accessibility Project: Transphobia and Discrimination Trans Accessibility Project: Transphobia And Discrimination The violence, discrimination and hatred heaped upon differently-gendered people is an enormous wrong. This bigotry will stop only when the rest of "us" are able to accept our own gender conflicts and pinpoint our own prejudices about biological sex and social sex-roles. -Pat Califia (1997, p. 10) Transphobia and Genderism Discrimination against transgendered people (and those seen to be transgressing gender rules) is pervasive in this society. Whether it is constantly being referred to as male when you are female (or female when you are male); being denied housing, employment, medical care or legal protections; or being unable to walk down the street without being insulted or assaulted, transphobia affects all aspects of life. Transphobia is the term used to describe the prejudice and discrimination directed at people who stray from the rigid gender expectations of our society. While the term is relatively new; the oppression that it describes is not. Transphobic remarks abounded in the 1960s when men let their hair grow and are now commonly heard by lesbians who adopt a "butch"appearance. There can be no question that gender plays a pivotal role in how this society understands itself. Turn on the television, read a magazine, go to a movie and, if nothing else is clear in the plot, you will have no difficulty distinguishing the boys from the girls. "Male or female?" is one of the first questions asked after a birth, vying only with questions about the baby's health. At the present time, it would be inconceivable for most parents, midwives, or doctors to respond to the question of sex with, "I don't know, let's wait until the baby is old enough to decide for itself." We live in a society which is very conscious of, and invested in, gender. Determining gender (consciously or unconsciously) is one of the first things that we do when we see another person. Even wandering down the street, we automatically incorporate an awareness of the gender of strangers passing us by. By and large, gender is the first piece of information that we receive about someone we meet, or hear described. We glean that information from the person's first name, from physical cues, from clothing (and accessories), from perfume or cologne, from mannerisms, voice and a multitude of other indicators that we perceive automatically. When there is some ambiguity in gender cues, or when we believe we have been mistaken about a person's gender, our response is rarely ho-hum. Typical responses range from embarrassed silence to violent assaults. These responses can be seen as stemming from genderism . This term refers to a system of beliefs (and the discrimination that flows from it) about gender. The foundation of genderism is 2-fold: that there are only two genders and that one's identity is based in biology. "Genderism" is comparable to heterosexism. Just as heterosexism is a world view that recognizes only heterosexuality as natural, genderism is a world view that recognizes two distinct genders as natural and those who believe otherwise are considered abnormal. Similarly, genderism insists that everyone's gender identity does, and should, match their apparent biological sex. These beliefs are promoted by individuals and by institutions. When there are exceptions to these rules (and there are many), there is often extreme discomfort and confusion in others. The insistence that transgendered people accept their biological make-up as more "real" than their own gender identity is reflected in a refusal to use the appropriate gender pronouns (even when corrected); and in statements like, "You make a convincing woman, I would never have guessed you weren't one." In addition to the obvious institutionalized belief in the deviance of transgendered people (i.e., transgender identity as a psychiatric disorder), the dehumanizing of transgendered people is evident in the freedom that some people feel to question the status of a transgendered person's genitals (what they look like and whether they "work" the way they are supposed to). It is difficult at times to know where sexism departs from genderism. It could be argued that genderism is also "a weapon of sexism" (to turn Suzanne Pharr's phrase 1). Maintaining a belief in two distinct genders requires significant and obvious differences between the genders. This makes it easier for one gender (that would be men) to justify the domination of the other. So, genderism needs gender rules dictating how men and women should look and behave. A man's masculinity is questioned if he wears earrings and a woman's femininity, if she has very short hair and wears no makeup. Types of Discrimination Discrimination comes in many packages. Not all of it is intentional and not all is sanctioned by the state. In some circumstances, people are unaware that they are discriminating; that is, they are not conscious of their prejudice or the effect of their behaviour. They simply have not taken into consideration the existence of transgendered people. In other situations, discrimination is quite intentional, if not calculated. Systemic discrimination refers to situations in which an entire group of people, on the basis of a shared characteristic, is denied the same opportunities, rights and protections as the rest of society. That it remains illegal for gays and lesbians to marry is an example of systemic, or institutionalized, discrimination; similarly, most transgendered people are denied the right to marry. Transgendered people suffer from widespread systemic discrimination which can be intentional or unintentional. Unintentional discrimination against transgendered people is a common occurrence. Many people and most organizations do not even consider the existence of transgendered people, their needs or their experiences. The discrimination is unintentional because there is no intent to do an injustice: there is simply a failure to recognize that anyone is there. However, discrimination is defined by its effect, not the intention. Unintentional discrimination can be just as painful and destructive as discrimination that is intended. When shelters for survivors of domestic violence were originally established, they were developed for women. No consideration was given to the fact that the group we understood as "women" is diverse in biology and presentation. There was no intention to discriminate against transgendered women, but clearly that has been the effect. Intentional discrimination refers to conscious discrimination that is justified by the belief that transgendered people do not belong and do not deserve equitable treatment. Intentional discrimination can take the form of placing insurmountable obstacles in people's paths; for example, requiring that SRS be completed in order to be eligible for services. This excludes the majority of transgendered women who cannot (or choose not to) undergo surgery. As Mirha-Soleil Ross (1995) stated, "This policy is politically problematic when we know that the TS women who need those shelters' services the most, are the ones who are probably the least likely to have the privileges required to get an SRS" (p. 10). The intention is to exclude all but a subset of transgendered women (who, in fact, already have the legal right to use the services). Personal discrimination refers to transphobic behaviours enacted on a one-to-one basis. Personal discrimination both creates, and is a product of, systemic discrimination and also may be intentional or unintentional. Each of the above examples reflects people's discomfort and/or hostility toward gender ambiguity or a person who is clearly defying the expectations for his or her gender. As one woman put it: if people don't know who the man is and who the woman is, how will they know who to oppress? The complex forms of discrimination that face transgendered people are highlighted by the issue of surgery. Many transgendered people question whether or not to have surgery or take hormones; but many organizations will accept only post-op transsexuals. This means that organizations are insisting that a transgendered woman take hormones, have her penis removed, and undergo hours of electrolysis in order to be considered female and eligible for services. Yet to get surgery, transsexuals must overcome many hurdles, including living and working in their new role for one to two years prior to surgery and finding a way to pay for it. Society says that it will not tolerate them until they have had surgical alterations; and the controllers of SRS say that they will not perform surgery until society accepts them. All of this points to another type of discrimination that is especially brutal and offensive. One of our fundamental rights in this society is the right to refuse invasive surgery. While there are some exceptions (children and those considered incompetent), for the most part, we cannot compel someone to amputate a body part, even if keeping it might cause their death. Moreover, we cannot insist that a person undergo "cosmetic" surgery because we are uncomfortable with their appearance. Thus, it is a gross violation of human rights to force a group of people to have major surgery in order to receive social services, employment, housing and legal protections. Physical alterations for the comfort of others should not be a requirement for human rights protection. Transphobia and Heterosexism/Homophobia Transphobia is often confused with heterosexism or homophobia. Heterosexism is the umbrella term used to describe all forms of discrimination against people who are (or are assumed to be) lesbian, gay or bisexual. Heterosexism includes the promotion by individuals and institutions of the superiority of heterosexuality over same-sex relationships. Heterosexist beliefs include the assumption that everyone should be heterosexual; that everyone is heterosexual (unless known to be otherwise); and that non- heterosexuals are somehow unnatural and abnormal.
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